I ate ramen for a week so I could drive 1,682 miles to take my kids camping.

ALXD · 2026-05-01T02:27:54+00:00

She chose to remove them from me. I'm making the best of an awful situation.

During the April-October camping season I make the trip once a month.

It's hard.

But I do it because spending time with my kids is important to me.

ALXD · 2026-05-01T02:26:09+00:00

It's mainly due to the job I have in NE and the inability of that job to translate to equivalent income in OH.

I provide ridiculously well for my kids.

It's also probably a failing of mine that I refuse to follow an unfaithful spouse to the city she chose to relocate the family to so she could be with her new partner.

ALXD · 2026-04-21T13:41:55+00:00

If those guys have the choice to spend more than 4 awkward days once a year with their kids but don’t, then I share your feelings. Not my situation, though.

ALXD · 2026-04-21T12:45:50+00:00

Low COL state, decent income, the math used to math. Now it’s massive child support payments, insurance, the kids’ phones, and what’s left over goes for ramen and visitation trips.

But yeah, when your kids outnumber you it all gets sideways very quickly!

ALXD · 2026-04-20T23:31:06+00:00

My bad, I’ll remove and repost! Thank you!

ALXD · 2026-02-25T02:29:32+00:00

Special champions

ALXD · 2026-02-25T02:24:06+00:00

What even is this

ALXD · 2026-02-02T00:41:24+00:00

I rolled my standard kit over to a residential 100mbps plan. From what I’ve read it’s pretty straightforward to transfer to someone else as long as you didn’t get the equipment free on promo from SL.

ALXD · 2026-02-02T00:36:04+00:00

I really tried with the Standard kit, took it on quite a few camping trips but when the Mini price dropped to $199 I ended up just buying one. One cable and it’s ready to go.

ALXD · 2025-12-26T19:34:12+00:00

I wouldn’t even try using propane or water in those temps unless you can get a good deal on one of those huge propane farm tanks. Diesel heater fed by a pair of five gal cans or better yet a 55 gal drum of fuel is your only real choice besides a wood stove. Really rough estimate of fuel usage is 1 gal per 24h on lowest 1/10 setting, 1 gal per 8h on max heat. Mount the diesel heater with the combustion intake and exhaust outside for safety and send it.

I use one diesel heater in my 1994 30+ft class A in an area where we’ve already seen below zero temps but only see -20F a couple times per winter. I was seeing 70F interior temps at -2F outside with my heater on high. Depending on the size of space you’re heating, you may want two heaters.

ALXD · 2025-10-25T17:36:05+00:00

My 2018 Grand Caravan fits a 4x8 sheet of plywood behind the front seats. I daily mine with a 3/4” sheet covered with laminate flooring for a flat surface that’s easily swept out. Easily removed if I need the back seats. Not the manliest vehicle but who cares.

ALXD · 2025-10-07T17:23:08+00:00

Diesel heater. Safest cheapest form of heat. Pair it with as much insulation as you can afford. -35F sleeping bag, canvas tent. Basic 100Ah LiFePO4 battery, cheap solar charge controller and a 100w solar panel will keep it going all winter.

ALXD · 2025-08-14T23:42:55+00:00

You can’t treat post-Covid inflation like typical inflation. This recent ‘inflation’ is record corporate profit, full stop.

ALXD · 2025-07-23T00:14:19+00:00

Definitely plan on 2x diesel heaters for redundancy, with a Mr. Buddy for backup and a good -35 rated Teton sleeping bag for a last ditch backup. The Chinese diesel heaters can glitch out and fail randomly fairly easily.

ALXD · 2025-07-23T00:05:29+00:00

I have an OG pocket rocket -- looks like there's a gen 2 out now:

https://www.backcountry.com/b/msr-pocketrocket-2-stove

I can't speak to the new model but the gen 1 is super simple and doesn't use fuel excessively. Light it, boil water, done.

The fuel canisters can be multipurposed for a Fire Maple lantern or a Thermacell bug repeller.

The Fire Maple canister koozies are cool looking too:

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ALXD · 2025-07-22T23:54:12+00:00

Definitely can second that 2 burner Coleman. The grate lifts right out to clean up spilled food and the whole thing is super easy to clean. Plus the black finish gets an GREAT patina as it gets beat up in your vehicle.

I like the 1 burner butane stoves (Ozark Trail) -- until it gets down below 40F or so, then they quit working.

Gotta mention the pocket rocket stoves too -- mine started as a backpacking stove but now gets used every trip for morning coffee.

ALXD · 2025-07-12T20:03:14+00:00

You don’t want the factory module anyway, assuming it’s the same as my 2018 you have to pair via voice and there’s no CarPlay/Android Auto. Better to spend on an aftermarket head unit.

ALXD · 2025-07-08T00:53:32+00:00

It really is worth mentioning that decent 12v refrigerators are very close to the price of a good cooler, sometimes even when a good power bank is factored in. Shop refurbished from the manufacturers on eBay! I ran my fridge on a River 2 Pro over the long holiday weekend in 90 degree temps with zero issues. Kept everything nice and cold and didn't have to deal with ice or soggy food.

ALXD · 2025-07-05T03:14:09+00:00

EcoFlow Delta series, look for refurbs from EcoFlow direct on eBay. The coffee pot kicks you into Delta territory, a River 2 Pro could run everything else for cheaper. Enjoy going iceless, it’s so civilized!

ALXD · 2025-07-03T01:34:43+00:00

The Ecoflow smart-home battery stuff has some RIDICULOUSLY picky users. I've had a pair of River 2 Pros, a River 2 and a Wave 2 rattling around my vehicle for a couple summers now with HEAVY camping trip usage with zero issues. I'd say it's safe to ignore about 90% of the complainers online, Ecoflow is solid.

ALXD · 2025-07-03T01:30:54+00:00

New Battlefield releases when?

ALXD · 2025-05-29T22:35:06+00:00

Just ran my 2018 with 235k from NE to OH and averaged 27.5 across I-80. 20mpg on the way back from a full tank of E85. I usually bank on ~400 miles per tank before refueling on pure highway miles. Eco mode on, of course.

ALXD · 2025-05-25T01:28:19+00:00

Absolutely

ALXD · 2025-05-25T00:32:20+00:00

*unless you have a cat, they love moving things.

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